A total of 18 marathon athletes of the Kimberley Harriers Running Club will be taking part in the Comrades Marathon on Sunday, 9 June.
David Janse van Vuuren will take on his 30th Comrades, while five of these athletes will be tackling their first. These newcomers are Rikus Bronkhorst, Charl Erasmus, Heinrich Salome, Cameron Sebolai, and Girma Wondimaggh.
Jan Greeff and Simon Majahe will compete in their 19th Comrades, Anel Viljoen her 13th, Bernard Farmer his 12th, Silas Mokwa his 11th, Charmain Ras her seventh, Glyn Fly Phiri his fifth, and Dan Mamogwe his third.
Johan Jonck, Daniël Toobi, Thapelo Mathetsa, and Roshelle Jacobs will run the Comrades for the second time.
According to the club, the fastest Kimberley Harrier thus far was Gary Gray who completed the marathon in 06:18:50, ending in 28th position in 1983.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) stated that the marathon will be run on Sunday for the 97th time. The official route distance for this year’s “up run” is 85,91 km. This year, the race commences at the City Hall in Durban, finishing in Pietermaritzburg.
Fun facts
- The constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to “celebrate mankind’s spirit over adversity”.
- Only 34 people started the 1921 marathon. Of these, only 16 finished it.
- The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Chapman (who had endured a gruelling march of 2 700 km through German East Africa).
- Frances Hayward was the first woman to run the Comrades (in 1923). She ran unofficially because her entry was refused. She finished in 11:35 and did not receive a medal.
- The winner of the 1930 race, Wally Hayward, went on to win the race another four times in the 1950s and became the oldest man to complete the race in 1989.
- The Comrades Marathon was not hosted between 1941 and 1945 (when the Union of South Africa was involved in World War 2).
- The Comrades Marathon attracted foreign entries for the first time in 1962. English runner John Smith won the race that year and missed the course record by 33 seconds.
- Bruce Fordyce won the Comrades Marathon a record nine times.
- The time limit for the Comrades Marathon is 12 hours.
- The first ten men and women to cross the finish line get gold medals.
Source: marathonmonopoly.com
- Northern Cape athletes can send pictures and race results of themselves and their club members on completing this year’s Comrades Marathon. Send information to helena.barnard@media24.com.
